India set to scale new heights

International cricket has reached the beautiful shores of Dharamsala as England wound up their split tour of India with the final ODI. The series has been bolted with India securing the trophy with a convincing victory at Mohali on Wednesday, but both the sides will look to end the series on a high note.

The picturesque stadium at Dharamsala, surrounded by the beautiful Himalayan mountains will play host to its 1st ever international match after having hosted a handful of IPL games. The venue, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, is set at an altitude of 1457 metres and offers one of the best views for spectators. It is against this background that the two teams tee-off one final time in the series.

India have shown glimpses of the kind of form that saw them lift the World Cup in 2011. The batting has not revolved around any single player with contributions coming from the entire batting order. Ishant Sharma has improved as the series has progressed while the emergence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shami Ahmed has boosted the pace department. With the series won, the players will be under lesser pressure, something that might help them to give their best at the last.

England have not gelled well as a team despite a surprise result in Rajkot. Their batsmen have evidently struggled against spin. Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen have shone in patches, but the find of the tour has been Joe Root. After having impressed the pundits with his technique and temperament during the Nagpur Test, Root displayed the other side of his batsmanship with a crafty innings at Mohali. Steven Finn has led the bowling department admirably but has lacked support from the other end. James Tredwell, only in as a replacement for the resting Graeme Swann has done himself no harm with some consistent performances. England have not enjoyed touring India for the shorter forms of the game but they would like to leave the country on a winning note.

Team News:

Dhoni has played the ODI series in pain after suffering a blow during practise before the Ranchi ODI. With the series won, it would be prudent for the Indian skipper to take a break. There has been no wicket-keeper replacement named in the squad though. Ashok Dinda might get a game instead of Ishant Sharma. Will Cheteshwar Pujara get a game?

I am glad he scored runs because he is one of the most god-gifted talents that is around - MS Dhoni was full of praise for the way Rohit Sharma batted in the Mohali ODI.

Apparently the umpires were pretty clear that they had told us that so I must have been deaf when I was listening to them - Alastair Cook is not exactly happy with the way the umpires handled Finn's dead ball incident in Mohali.

Suresh Raina has expressed his desire to bat higher up in the Indian line-up in order to have the opportunity to face more overs which would enable him to showcase his full batting prowess and potential.

The Indians first restricted the visitors to 257 for seven and then overcame some anxious moments before overhauling the target with 15 balls to spare in a floodlit contest played in cold conditions at the PCA stadium.

I guess we are just going into the game trying to execute our skills as best as we can and if we do that and perform like we did in the first game, there is every chance we can turn them over: Tredwell.